Language: no profanitySex: kissingDrug/Alcohol Use: main character’s older brother “appears” to be drunk, but no alcohol or drug use depictedViolence: main character punches a mean girl when the girl makes fun of her but she is punished for this behaviourSocial Issues: bullying, peer pressure, learning to stand up for yourself, crushes, mean-girl behaviour, being publicly embarrassed, making new friendsSuggested Movie Grade: PG

Premise: From School Library Journal: Erin Swift, who is beginning middle school, keeps a diary on her own private Web page, which she never intends to post on the Internet. The year gets off to a rough start when she discovers that she and her best friend, Jilly, will not have any classes together. Then Erin punches her archenemy, Serena, for calling her Jilly’s puppet. Worst of all, Erin begins to wonder if she does follow Jilly’s wishes instead of her own and resolves to make some new friends and pursue her own interests. Things become more difficult when the boy Erin secretly likes becomes infatuated with Jilly. The only bright spot is the Intranet Club where Erin’s computer skills earn her a lead role in designing the school’s new web site.

Then disaster strikes when Erin’s secret Web page is accidentally posted on the school Intranet for everyone to read. Suddenly, she is faced with her biggest problem yet. – Linda L. Plevak, Saint Mary’s Hall, San Antonio, TX.

Potential Points of Concern: Erin defers to her best friend Jilly’s wishes even when her own desires are different. Jilly appears to take full advantage of her power over Erin although she is not mean or manipulative about it. By the end of the story, both girls realize what they’ve been doing and move to change.

Mean girl Serena bullies Erin and calls her Jilly’s puppet. Erin punches her in the face, however she is punished for this misbehaviour.

Erin develops a crush on Mark and is broken hearted when Mark, in turn, develops a crush on Jilly. When Jilly and Mark start “going out”, Erin is devastated.

Jilly and Mark engage in public kissing.

Erin suffers extreme public humiliation when her private web site is published on the school’s intranet site and all of her friends read about her thoughts. Jilly refuses to speak to her and Mark avoids her.

Erin proves to be a strong character who learns to stand on her own two feet and to be true to who she is.

“Age appropriate” is very subjective. I would be interested in knowing which ages you feel this book would not be appropriate for. I found nothing in this book I would consider inappropriate for children over the age of 10 or 11 as far as language.

Reviews By Title

But I’m Too Busy to Read Everything

Yesterday at the bookstore, my middle-school-aged daughter chose a book meant to be read by a high-school-aged person. She's mature enough to handle the advanced reading level. But she's not mature enough to handle the advanced sex, language, and social issues that the book might contain. I told her I would need to preview the book before I'd allow her to read it.

And I wished for a website that would lead me in the right direction. Some place that might offer a parent's opinion on the age appropriateness of Young Adult titles.

There may be many sites out there that offer such information. In which case, one more opinion can't hurt, right? But if there aren't easily found book review sites like this one, I hope it helps other parents who are too busy to read everything but don't feel comfortable with letting their child read something without at least an idea of what might be between the front and back covers.

This site is not a review site. My opinion about the quality of the story or writing will not be shared here. Rather, this site attempts to summarize issues of concern for parents and indicate if and how the book in question handles them. Based on my own experience, I offer a suggested age of appropriateness at the end of each entry, however this is my opinion alone and has no support from the writers or publishers of the titles reviewed.

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